Landstuhl CrossFit

• eliminate sugar and artificial sweeteners: this includes fruit juice (even 100%), sports drinks, all sodas including diet (scary to me that this is our main source of calories, something which offers zero nutritional value and radically spikes blood insulin), and sugar replacements even touted as “natural” like maple syrup, agave nectar, and honey (I love honey). Switch to drinking water, tea, or sparkling water – very refreshing in summer with a little dash of lemon or lime. I wanted to also include dried fruit in this category because their glycemic load is sky-high , making them virtually indistinguishable from pure sugar in relation to their glycemic effect on the body…BUT they can be considered paleo, so just be aware and eat them in moderation (and preferably just after exercise). If you are trying to lean out, I would recommend eliminating them completely.
• eliminate all vegetable oils (soybean, flaxseed, corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed) – look at the obesity risk (Dr. Guyenet), even cancer (Dr. Barry Groves), as many studies strongly suggest. I can’t stress the importance enough – and this means if you MUST go to a restaurant you certainly don’t order anything fried! Forget the soup and omit the salad dressing completely (smuggle in your own…TOLD you you’d be a freak). Ask for a cut of meat/fish off the menu that’s prepared with real butter. Eating too much linoleic acid (this site has excellent journal/research references) dramatically increases oxidized LDL cholesterol levels (one of the strongest risk factors for CHD), and inflammation (a major contributor to various cancers, diabetes, CHD as well as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)).
• For cooking, eat healthy saturated fats like butter (purchase Kerrygold Irish butter on the economy if possible – it’s grassfed sourced!!) and coconut oil, preferably. EVOO (monounsaturated fat) less preferably but still acceptably. EVOO is excellent eaten cold for dressings and dips, or moderately heated in sautés and sauces (it will oxidize – never heat in oven over 350°F or grill with it). EVOO also needs to be stored in dark bottles (and unfortunately not all dark bottles are effective protection from light), and you have to be certain to use it within 10-12 weeks of opening. Avocado oil is delicious (and considered paleo) but also falls into the don’t-heat-too-high category. I don’t know of a good (grassfed) source here in Germany for lard or tallow, or I would recommend them as well. Fear polyunsaturated fats – - stop being afraid of saturated fats (a couple of my favorite references) Many good doctors and scientists are valiantly trying to discredit the lipid hypothesis, and great arguments such as this one as well as research results like this one convinced me they’re right – I will have to make that the subject of a future blog post!
• eliminate cereal grains – this means no bread, pasta, tortillas, couscous, oatmeal, granola, or even corn and rice. Grains spike insulin, have a high concentration of phytates (sometimes called “anti-nutrients”, phytates inhibit nutrient absorption and cause inflammation), and perhaps worst of all a high concentration of lectins like gluten which permeate the intestine, causing inflammation and immune response by your body. First, regarding lectins, please read this series from Dr. Guyenet. Other sources I recommend on grains and lectin here, which provides a great summary of research on lectins, Mark Sesson’s “Lowdown on Lectins,” in concise, understandable language, and here where Dr. Cordain is quoted
  

  With continued exposure of the gut by these toxic food lectins, a persistent stimulation of the body’s defense mechanism in a dysfunctional manner occurs, i.e. autoimmune disease.

  Regarding phytates, Amaranth, Brown Rice, & Millet are gluten free and contain less phytates than other grains – very cool information, but they are still all out for 30 days. Now to expand a little on the phytates subject, USDA researchers have been trying to develop a line of cereal grains with less phytates – ostensibly to benefit the malnourished. First I’ll quote Goliath’s story on the USDA’s research:
  

  Such cereals as rice store most phosphorus in the grain as phytic acid, which can’t be digested by one-stomached animals like fish, chickens, pigs and humans. It binds to minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc in the slightly acidic conditions in the intestines. Because phytic acid is poorly digested and utilized, these bound minerals are less available in the body. The human body rarely lacks phosphorus, but people in developing nations with primarily grain-based diets sometimes have mineral deficiencies.

  Primarily grain-based diets? Why….that would be MOST PEOPLE IN AMERICA thanks to the USDA’s original food pyramid and heck the new one isn’t much better. Here’s the USDA’s story on the low-phytate grain research, and another on the impact low-phytate corn had on a group of volunteers (“Feeling Weak? Try the Tortillas!) Here’s a great quote from that USDA site I must share:
  

  The Raboy corn lines have up to 95 percent less phytic acid than most common varieties… Tortillas and other foods made from the flour… may help combat iron-deficiency anemia. That could be a boon in developing countries where corn-based foods are a part of nearly every meal. In fact, products made from this corn could become useful around the world, since iron deficiency is fairly common in developed nations as well.

  Gee, Americans are deficient in iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc – phytates inhibit absorption of all of them. On this site I found out that corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States (80 million acres of land), accounting for more than 90 percent of total value and production of feed grains. Most goes to feed livestock, and the rest ends up as our corn starch, sweeteners (namely high fructose corn syrup and the soda consumption we already talked about), corn oil, and alcoholic beverages. Wow, seems like corn-based foods are a part of nearly all OUR meals, too. Corn is also the top crop for US subsidy payments. With so much invested in this industry, you can’t wonder why it’s taken so long and will continue to take so long to evoke change. Maybe I’m an optimist, but it really seems like change is now happening.

• eliminate all processed foods. A major source of calories in processed/packaged foods is the linoleic acid (in the form of polyunsaturated fats/vegetable oil) we discussed earlier. Don’t eat anything from a box or package, it is certain to have some sort of sugar, flour/gluten or polyunsaturated fats added. Seasoning packets usually contain the same kinds of crap – stick to the basic dried spices or scan ingredients carefully. For our 30-day Paleo Challenge, you can still eat bacon as long as you buy Gwaltney brand with no added sugar from Ramstein commissary, Casa Modena Affecttuosi Speck (ridiculously expensive) from either Ramstein or Vogelweh commissaries, or you buy it from your local small Metzgerei (Dörfleisch pronounced “duh-flyshe”…get about 250g) and you don’t heat it too high. To be clear, all bacon I’ve seen over here including the Metzgerei’s Dörfleisch contains sodium nitrite, and when meat containing nitrites is heated at high temperatures, nitrosamine compounds are formed. Nitrosamines have been linked with (thank you, MDA) gastric cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The more you eat, the greater your risk, supposedly. Please note, however, that Mark Sisson later in the same post I reference above, observes that all those research studies appear to be pretty inconclusive. The paleo/primal community as a whole is pretty divided on this subject. Dr. Eades tells everyone they can “safely ignore nitrites” and provides a link to this site. Dr. Stephan Guyenet tells us that although all those links I reference above are most likely real dangers from processed meat, it probably isn’t due to the nitrites in them – his current theory is that it’s due to the potentially inflammatory glycation end-products (AGEs)– of which processed meats are a dominant source. Our family eats bacon/German wursts in moderation (well…if you consider about 350g Dörfleisch per week to be moderation).
• eliminate dairy products (argh)
• eliminate legumes, including all beans (except green beans although they are technically not paleo), lentils, peas, peanuts, and all soy products. Mark Sisson has a great article on reasons why. The time required for properly soaking fresh, dried beans in order to be able to occasionally eat them is worth it for me (and I will most likely add them back into my family’s diet after this 30-day paleo challenge), see this cached Weston Price site for proper preparation instruction and good recipes - cached because they are still having website issues.
• Eliminate white potatoes, another high-glycemic load carbohydrate. Sorry…sprung a new one on you. See this PubMed study where foods that were most consistently associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes were potatoes (cooked or French-fried), white rice, white bread, and carbonated beverages. Here’s the official glycemic index/load table for 750 different foods Consume sweet potatoes (preferably as a part of post-exercise refueling) which give you more fiber and micronutrients, without all the toxic glycoalkaloids.
• eliminate alcohol (we’ll discuss this, esp red wine, after 30 days!)
• drastically cut caffeine intake if you are anything other than moderate.
• keep your nut/seed intake to low. Keep in mind that they are a moderate source of carbs, and contain varying levels of lectin. Brazil nuts, Macadamia Nuts, Walnuts, and Almonds are best, and best when properly prepared (soaked in salt water and then dehydrated to neutralize enzyme inhibitors), especially if they are consumed in large amounts – you will notice some disturb your stomach more than others. Quinoa and kasha/buckwheat are pseudograins (both are fruits, botanically, and you eat the seed), & gluten free BUT unfortunately they still contain lectins so are out of the question for our 30-Day Challenge. You can purchase these in their whole form (online but also available locally at Landstuhl’s Reformhaus, or in Kaiserslautern Rewe and Allnatura among multiple sources), but they still need to be well rinsed and soaked prior to use, and keep in mind this process reduces but generally does not eliminate lectins and other toxins – I include this information just because sometimes it is worth the trouble/time to indulge yourself with bread if you miss its taste, and these are the safest ingredients to use. You can find great recipes using for one example, coconut flour (a crumbly flour) and buckwheat (a binding flour) as described here on a site that includes good recipes.
• coconut in all forms including milk (except sweetened), avocados, tomatoes, lemons, and limes are wonderful and preferred fruit sources, and especially if you are trying to cut weight, try to limit fruit consumption to low-glycemic load sources of fruit.
• limit salt intake. Vinegar is debatable paleo – certainly you can’t have balsamic, but I usually try to stick to apple cider vinegar (particularly organic with lots of stuff floating around in it, which I drink a couple tbsp of in warm water with cayenne pepper to ward off colds). Mustard I eat Maille Dijon Originale or any other brand you can find locally without sugar (nothing in the commissary). Make your own condiments recipes here

.
Basically stick to buying fresh or frozen vegetables/meat/fruit (but LOOK OUT FOR the broth included in every single brand of frozen whole chicken and turkey available in the commissary – it has wheat and/or sugar added). For anything else, become a label reader & put down anything with PUFA (vegetable oil), flour, sugar, or way too much salt. The first time you shop, expect it to take a little longer & then you will find reliable brands you can reach for each time. We buy pureed and diced tomatoes sold in cans and bottles from the commissary on a regular basis – ingredients are tomatoes and salt. You can find tomato sauces on the German economy with basil or peppers in them as well. We love smoked salmon – best when wild-caught of course just really, really expensive. We purchase coconut milk and coconut oil at 1/4 the price at the commissary compared to the economy, but I suggest you get your almond flour (Mandel Meal) on the economy – there are plenty of recipes I will supply which use it (ok when consumed in moderation).
.
I will get recipes and Paleo snacks up this weekend. Please feel free to reply to comments with your questions, or just send me an email!